Shoe bottom filler sheet or piece



A. THOMA SHOE BOTTOM FILLER SHEET 0R PIE CE Jan. 19, 1932,

Filed April 13. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 19, 1932.

A. THOMA SHOE BOTTOM FILLER SHEET OR PIECE Filed April 13. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ANDREW THOMA, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIG-NOR TO NORTH AMERICAN CHEMICAL COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS SHOE BOTTOM FILLER SHEET OR PIECE Application filed April 13,

This invention pertains to a shoe-bottom filler piece, layer or sheet of permanent form, the present application being derived from and a continuation in part of my copending application, Ser. No. 133,506, filed September 3, 1926, now Patent No. 1,801,463 dated April 21, 1931. In my prior Patents N 0. 808,224, December 26, 1905; No. 832,002, September 25, 1906; No. 861,555, July 30, 1907; No. 945,294, January 4, 1910, an in a long series of subsequent patents granted to me, I have disclosed certain filler compounds which have been found eminently satisfactory as bottom fillers for shoes, such compounds in general being permanently elastic, pliable and compressible when cold, waterproof or Water repellant, and quick setting, non-inflammable, heat insulating, and extremely adherent to leather, and capable of becoming sluggishly fluid when heated, although capable of retaining a given shape indefinitely when confined as a filler within the cavity of a shoe-bottom.

My present invention provides as an article of manufacture a shoe filler sheet preferably in the form of a died out piece, leaf or layer, capable of shipment, storage and han dling without danger of breakage, disintegration or deterioration, but which comprises the above spreadable filler material. This embodiment adapts said filler to McKay shoes making it possible to incorporate in such shoes all the desirable and advantageous features above enumerated but which filler heretofore has not been practicable for McKay use. The preferred embodiment of my present invention obviates the necessity of preconditioning the filler, and especially eliminates the necessity of employing heat in the shoe factory. It introduces a radically different process of use from any heretofore employed or possible, all as set forth in my concurrent process applications Ser. No. 210,558, filed August 4, 1927 and Serial No. 242,085, filed December 23, 1927 now Patent No. 1,796,671 dated March 17, 1931. Likewise my present invention eliminates the ne cessity of the usual expensive conditioning and applying machine in the shoe factory, and saves the floor space heretofore required 1927. Serial No. 183,302.

with the attendant lack of cleanliness in connection with the use of my former melted, hot, mushy filler in filling welt shoes. My present invention is neat, externally dry and non-sticky under normal conditions and so shaped as to be instantly applicable directly to the shoe-bottom cavity. This sheet-like embodiment is preferably plane although I contemplate making it corrugated or fluted and it may be folded or doubled upon itself or otherwise packaged for shipment and is capable of a wide range of sizes and shapes. This invention, broadly defined, consists of a shoe filler layer or piece having a self-sustaining form and self-maintaining coherency characteristic as an article of manufacture, cohesive, compacted and with a capacity of expansion in area. This description and definition is intended to be generic to the spreadable leaf or layer embodiment on the one hand, as more fully set forth hereinafter, and the non-spreadable but yet extensible leaf or layer embodiment on the other hand. The latter species is more fully set forth in the copending application of A. H. Avery Ser. No. 212,747, filed August 13, 1927, where this species is claimed as such.

l/Vhile I prefer to make my new filler sheet in an extensive plane, to be thereafter cut or died into the individual pieces requisite for individual shoes, it will be understood that the pieces may be made as such, and in any case the pieces when they reach the operator in the shoe factory are less in size and shape than the shoe-bottom cavity tobe filled, so that all the operator has to do is simply to place a piece in the shoe-bottom cavity, or it may be, on the inner face of the outersole. I mention these capabilities to show the radical novelty of the invention. N 0 application of a hot roll or other special applying tool to shape the filler as heretofore, is necessary although, in saying this, I do not mean necessarily to exclude the use of such tool. It will be understood that other methods may be employed, including a hot roll and pre-treatment, as, for instance, set forth in my copending applications, Ser. No. 210,558, filed August 4, 1927, Ser. No. 228,588, filed October 25, 1927 and Ser. No. 242,085, filed December 23, 1927 now Patent No. 1,796,671 dated March 17, 1931. As soon as the filler operator has simply placed the piece in position the shoe-bottom is preferably assembled at once and secured, with said piece then lying between the innersole and the outer sole, and the expanding of the filler layer then takes place cold under pressure, preferably the regular levelling pressure which shapes the shoebottom. Preferably also this levelling shifts all, or it may be a portion only, of the filler piece to conform to irregularities of depth and contour of the shoe-bottom cavity. As herein shown and described the piece expands, and preferably spreads or extrudes, laterally outward i. e. from the center toward and against the periphery of the cavity although my invention contemplates and includes a structure or piece shiftable in any direction as, for instance, inwardly from said periphery toward the center as disclosed and claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 212,018, filed August 10, 1927. Although the piece has, preferably as an article of manufacture, a self-sustaining sheet-like form, it preferably has a sufliciently plastic characteristic at normal working temperatures to be capable of said limited shifting under the levelling pressure. Preferably it also is inherently compressible and adhesive as Well as selfshaping. In the more complete embodiment of the piece as an article of manufacture, it is laminated, at least one layer of which is expansible with relation to the other and one layer preferably consists of sticky material. Preferably the piece has a sticky interior and a non-sticky exterior. The exterior, or at least one of the layers, has a contour of fixed shape and another of the layers has a Variable contour. Preferably this contour is variable and also its area or in other Words the piece is responsive to vertical pressure when in a shoe-bottom cavity so that one portion of it is capable of being rendered by said pressure thin to fit the ball portion of the cavity while the rest of the piece becomes enlarged in area by squashing out to fit the irregularities of said cavity. In a McKay shoe this spreading is preferably sufiicient to fill all the small open spaces formed by the folds or pleats of the upper at its inner edges next to the laid outer sole, with the result that the filler operates to weld together or unite as a single unit the four elements of the McKay shoe-bottom viz. the outer sole, innersole, crimped upper therebetween, and the plastic filler. This is a new McKay structure made possible for the first time by my new filler piece and method. The plastic layer preferably consists of a smeary adhesive binder and comminuted cork reinforced by shape-holding means on at least one side capable of stiffening it and preferably flexible and waterproof so as to produce in effect a sheet fabric fully coherent for shipping and handling.

The shape-holding or determining layer is preferably in the form of a cover piece and preferably on both the top and bottom, and preferably its predetermined area and shape is trapezoidal although I have shown and described herein other shapes, said trapezoidal species being more fully set forth and covered in my copending application Ser. No. 192,076, filed May 17, 1927, now Patent No 1,796,670, dated March 17, 1931 The laminated piece, in one embodiment, has layers with different coefficients of expansion and preferably different coefficients of compressibility,of hardness, of adhesiveness, all as will more fully appear later. At this place I may point out also the Wide range or varieties of embodiments to which my invention lends itself. I have already mentioned that at least one of the lay ers is preferably spreadable and another fixed or unalterable in shape and area. One of the external layers may be adhesive, active or latent, (to be rendered sticky in the latter case by immersion in Water or by other means). The protector cover or shape-holding layer is preferably paper or a paper-like material so as to be pliable and yielding to pressure to conform to its surroundings in the shoe bottom cavity and yet provide a smooth level surface, sufiiciently permanent, durable, non-shrinking, and not readily frangible, but it may be formed in whole or in part of any substance or materials capable of giving the plastic inner layer an integument, skin, shell, crust or other protecting covering sufiicient for shipping purposes. The paper-like material may consist of fibres, short or long, matted or held together, preferably tough, flexible and non-stretchable as compared with the spreadable filler material, and while preferably impervious, it may be a textile web and more or less open, gauzy or net-like in texture. The point here being emphasized is that the layer or piece shall have on it or Within it or in connection with its structure or composition means for maintaining it as a piece and for holding its integrity during transportation or until it is laid in the shoebottom, and any means for accomplishing this purpose is within the scope of this feature of my invention broadly considered. This self-sustaining function is particularly desirable when the mass or body of the piece is of a spreadable or plastic nature (at the moment of bottom forming). S'uch tensilestrength giving means for preventing disintegrating or dropping in pieces when the filler piece is being handled or being placed in the shoe cavity is necessary to its integrity as a piece. In other words, the piece idea is at the foundation of my invention, by which Imean that it must be a shaped article, which is either molded, cut, rolled, or otherwise tain its permanence and character as a piece throughout all the usual and necessary handling. It is shaped to the extent that the ma terial is subdivided into standardized units of predetermined volume and when these subdivided units are of spreadable material, in whole or in part, they are molded and compressed to a predetermined standard shape and to a coherent, self-sustaining strength. Preferably the shape holding layer is external, and preferably it is substantially waterproof as for example impregnated with wax tailings, combinations of oil and resins or waxes or any of the materials of this character mentioned in my various patents or otherwise and accomplished either before application to the plastic layer or by being impregnated under pressure and heat with more or less of the constituents of said layer. A removable cover layer is also within the scope of certain of my claims which may be removed or disintegrated mechanically or chemically after having served its purpose as a shipping protector. For example this includes a laminated coating the inner layer only of which adheres strongly to the filler, permitting the outer layers to be stripped off at will, as where the filler has an adhesive surface for its ready attachment to the shoebottom. On the other hand this integumental covering may be such as to be easily dissolved or washed off by water or chemically, as for example cellulose or wood pulp, preferably without waxy or other binding agent, therefore readily removable to a substantial degree at least by the aid of water hot or cold. ()r the outer surface of the piece may be coated with a normally dry adhesive such as dextrine for example, to be moistened just prior to laying in the shoe-bottom cavity, or a thin film, flexible or brittle, of chemical substance or compound which provides the desired non-adhesive substance and requisite stiffness and rigidity for handling and application, as for example a surface film of glue, silicate of soda, liquid albumin, which furnishes the desired hard impervious shell, (crust. skin, layer, cover, stratum, or whatever the coating or integument is called, all of these terms having been used in my various applications) but sufficiently brittle to break down in the shoe under the levelling pressure and permit the filler to spread without hindrance into all the recesses of the shoe cavity. Tougher films formed, for example, of celluloid and the like, which if thin, when subjected to levelling pressure, readily split so as to permit the filler layer to spread laterally. A further species or subordinate embodiment of my general invention, as generically covered herein and in my basic application Serial No. 297,630. filed August 6, 1928, now Patent No 1,793,340, dated February 17, 1931, which is a continuation in part of my application Ser. No. 133,506, filed September 3,

21, 1931, is set forth in my copending applications Ser. No. 228,236, filed October 24,

1927, and Ser. No. 232,279, filed November In place of such a film-like coating (produced if desired by deposit from solution, suspension or colloidal extension), a comminuted or powdery material is employed for dulling the outer portion of the binder of the filler material and thus stiffening the outer layer of the latter. Thus the outer surface or surfaces of the filler material has a thick coating or dusting of finely powdered cork, cotton linters, mica flakes, talc, chalk, leather dust or the like, or mixtures thereof, or mixtures of any such substances with stiffening materials which tend to set under the quickening action of heat, moisture or pressure, such for example as plaster of Paris, pulverized glue. pulverized shellac, casein combined with lime, etc. or solutions of certain of such stiffening substances such as glue, shellac, dextrine, etc., all of which result in form i ing a thin skin, crust, or integumental layer at the outside of the filler body, such layer normally presenting a substantially dry or: non-adhesive surface, which does not readily stick to adjacent pieces of the material, and which lends a certain degree of stiffness and rigidity to the piece but without substantially? changing the character of the body of the, filler intermediate such outer layers or crusts: lVhen the piece thus coated is subjected to the levelling pressure. it spreads without difficulty (being frail and also because. as it is granular, it separates and spreads along with the inner plastic layer instead of remaining intact) so as to fill the cavity of the shoebottom, and if such coating layers comprise substances, for example, plaster of Paris, which harden when subjected to moisture, the moisture of the tempered shoe parts will react with such substances, thus tending ultimately to stiffen and harden the filler after its application to the shoe-bottom.

Such stiffening substances or in fact any of the surfacing materials of a powdery nature, which I employ to dull the main filler layer or sticky plastic body and provide a non-sticky and substantially dry surface for handling, are applied by preferably being dusted over the partially cooled, semi-fluid, partially sheeted, sticky filler material in a copious layer and then pressed in place. But, as the ultimate individual pieces must withstand much handling in transportation and before and after reaching the shoe factory, I subject this coating layer to a further pressure, when the plastic layer has set or nearly reached its fully cooled condition, and this extra pressure drives the powdery, granular elements down into the plastic layer and to some extent forces the latter slightly upward into the powdery layer, so as to embed and hold the latter as a real protecting covering, not capable of being jarred or brushed off in the course of said handling. As this condensed and welded or embedded surface is given to the sheeted filler and made permanent (until the stage of shoe filling) by said subsequent pressure welding, I have called the same a re-surfacing of the filler in my copending method application Ser. No. 242,085. December 23, 1927, now Patent- No. 1,796,671, dated March 17, 1931, Where I have set forth more at length certain further advantages. When the powdery layer contains in whole or in part latent adhesive substance or substances or any of the other substances mentioned as subservient to moisture, especially hot water, this re-surfacing under pressure, that is to say this forcing the powder into gripping and protected relation to or engagement with the ground cork for instance and the binder of the plastic layer is of great mechanical value, as it prevents the adhesive being washed off, even though the piece or pieces are carelessly left in the water an undue length of time. Enough of the softened, converted powder is held as paste (or whatever the adhesive and stiffener may be) within and among the intermixed particles of cork, linter, mica, talc, leather dust, or whatever is at or near said surface, so as to be depended on as still present and active when removed from the water or other quickening liquid and laid in the shoe cavity. Then, the plastic piece having been spread in place and the re-surfacing elements ended as surface protectors, they perform their further functions in, on, and among the spread layer, of stiffening the layer, absorbing, and otherwise taking up the binder, and aiding the anti-squeak result, and so on, as elsewhere explained and depending upon just what re-surfacing mixture and what plastic layer were employed. For example, the absorbent, granulated elements take up binder and give ultimate stability. the adhesive or paste forming elements stiffen or harden the layer on drying (by evaporation, chemical action, union, or the like) and the stilfeners WlllCl) set under the action of heat, moisture or pressure act, besides stiffening in and of themselves, to reenforce and brace the body element, cork for example. of the spreadable layer, so that it is then held against further shifting tendency.

On the other hand, certain of the substances just mentioned, for example, mica flakes or talc, mixed with finely granulated cork or similar dry non-absorbent material, if desired, provide a slippery surface which tends to slide freely in contact with the adjacent portion of the shoe. Thus when a filler leaf, or piece, of this character is secured, for example, by means of adhesive to the bottom of the cavity in the shoe, its opposite surface, which is smooth and slippery by reason of the coating material employed, permits the outer sole to slide freely in contact therewith, thus avoiding the squeaking which is an objectionable feature of the Me- Kay type of shoe as usually made. In this case there are preferably three laminae, a central lamina of any of the shape-retaining, self-sustaining materials herein mentioned, with a slippery layer or lamina on one side and an adhesive lamina or skin on the other side. This anti-squeak feature is further set forth in my copending application Ser. No. 211,300, filed Aug. 8, 1927. Since the levelling pressure squeezes the filler material laterally out into and over the upper material which li-es in contact with the inner sole, the anti-squeak properties of such filler ma.- terial are effective, not only at the middle portion of the sole but also at its outer edge portions. Under some circumstances, materials of an asphaltic, wax-like or paint-like nature, which harden by cooling, evaporation or oxidation, are used either in forming the skin or integument upon the filler layer or to impart a desired surface finish to a skin or crust otherwise produced. As my present filler piece is designed to be applied to the shoe while cold (normal room temperature) or without special heat-treatment, I find it desirable to employ a filler comprising a slicker or having the general properties imparted by the presence of such a slicker, as described for example in my Patent No. 1,032,312, July 9, 1912. Such properties may advantageously be obtained by treating the dry pulverized cork or other granular material with a colloidal solution, for example, soap solution or oil emulsion prior to mixing with the binding agent.

This is one means of giving the plastic layer a capacity of becoming, by the subsequent pressure treatment. inherently less liable to shift ultimately in the shoe-bottom cavity (as further explained and amplified in my copending applications Ser. No. 210,558 and Ser. No. 211,157, already mentioned).

The filler may be shipped in sheets or large pieces directly to the shoe manufacturer, and may be cut by him into the desired small sheets or leaf-like pieces for use, or preferably the small leaf-like pieces are shipped as articles of manufacture readyformed so that all he has to do is to lay them in the shoe-bottom one by one as the shoes come to the hand of the operator in the process of bottoming the shoes. I use the word sheet to mean a broad expanse of material rolled or made thin, but irrespective of whether large or small, and whether in a web or cut up into single sizes for individual shoes, whereas I use the term piece in a broader and different sense to mean simply a single article or thing produced, large or small, but without necessarily being a sheet or sheetlike.

ANALo-eous we,

For makin shank pieces for shoes, the steel stifieners or springs are either fed in proper order and relation into the hot filler layer prior to the application of the outer skins so that they become actually embedded in the filler sheet or the shank pieces are first cut from the sheeted material and the stiffener steels are then attached by means of rivets or the like.

My invention renders it unnecessary that the filler pieces conformtothe cavity by reason of the fact already pointed out, that the levelling pressure causes the leaf of filler material to spread laterally and thus fill all the interstices of the shoe substance. This is set forth, together with the great advantages thereof in my copending applications Ser. No. 210,558 filed August 4, 1927 and Ser. No. 212,017 filed August 10, 1927.

For application to a McKay shoe the material may be made as thin as desirable, a plurality of such pieces being superposed if in any particular instance the cavity be of unusual depth so as to provide the necessary quantity of filler material. Although little difliculty has previously been met with in filling welt shoes by the prevalent spreading method, I contemplate that such shoes may readily be filled by the use of the filler leaves or pieces, herein described, it being evident that for welt shoes such leaves may be thicker than for McKay shoes or, as before described, a plurality of such leaves may be employed to provide the necessary amount of filler material.

The pad-like feature or characteristic of the filler piece, in its preferred embodiment, is especially advantageous for filling the bottoms of McKay shoes, where a thinner layer of filler is required than in a welt shoe. \Vhen ordinary sheet materials are cut into bottom filler leaves, it is almost impossible to cut said leaves to the exact shape of the shoe-bottom cavity (whether welt or Me- Kay), but my invention renders it unnecessary even to attempt to make the pieces conform to the cavity. The small piece is simply cut from the pad-like sheet. to a size and shape smaller than the shoe-bottom cavity, and then fastened to the surface of said cavity by cement or any suitable means and the outer sole is then placed over it in usual manner and fastened in place. The small filler piece which has been cut from the sheet rests not only on the bottom of the cavity which it is to fill. but rests more or less over the gathered-in edges of the upper materials in the case of a McKay shoe. f this piece of sheeted material were unyielding and not pad-like and compressible. this overlapping of the folded or gathered-in edges of the upper materials would produce a ridge to the subsequent discomfort of the wearer of the shoe and the ultimate distorted appearance of the shoe sole. In its broader aspects, my invention is not always restricted to a pad-like structure, U

as the various layers or laminae may be combined in a wide scope or variety of arran ements, but of course if a non-compressi le body layer is used it must be confined Wholly withinthe cavity and not overlapped as just explained.

Having applied the sole as stated, the usual levelling pressure is brought to bear upon said sole and shoe-bottom, and because of the yielding, spreadable nature ofthepad-like filler piece, the desired even bottom and complete filling thereof are automatically secured. The filler piece yields in Whatever direction the cavity and its overlying edge of crimped upper leather and shoe lining require, the semi-plastic or moldable layer between the webs of retaining paper spreading or squeezing out, up, down or in as required and thereby conforming accurately to the differing peculiarities of each shoe-bottom automatically under the sever presence of the levelling machine.

My novel material provides not only a padlike yielding layer, but when once compressed and conformed to the cavity and irregular boundaries of said cavity, it is likewise stuck above, below and all around and is thereafter confined within its place in the shoe-bottom so that it is non-shifting, while at the same time completely Waterproofing and insulating said shoe-bottom. Because of its resulting compactness due to the compression and molding of it under the levelling machine, it gives the sole a uniform support at all points, which has heretofore been impossible through the use of sheeted cork board or any other form of sheeted material used in the manufacture of McKay shoes.

The enveloping webs of paper or other layers constitute protection against displacement of the fibrous mass before use, and against the sticky surface of the binder. The yielding quality of the contained composition may vary in accordance with the mixture selected, as will be readily understood by those familiar with these plastic shoe-bottom fillers as set forth in my previous patents before mentioned. Also I wish it understood that a further advantage of this product resides in the fact that the sheet,.when once prepared and cooled, can then be compressed to a greater firmness so that it becomes practicable to corrugate it and impress it with any suitable pattern. Such corrugation stores an extra amount of the plastic interlayer in de sired regions according to the requirements for subsequent spreading at given points or areas of any given shoe cavity or special form or make of bottom.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the filler piece or layer in various forms and its mode of application to the shoe, it being understood that the invention is not in any way restricted to the specific shape,

size or relative thickness of the shoe filler piece herein illustrated.

In the drawings Figs. 1 and 2 are vertical fragmentary sections, to large scale, showing pieces having outer layers consisting of paper and textile fabric respectively; 1

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar vertical sections illustrating a slightly different sheet-like filler piece;

Fig. 5 is a similar vertical section illustrating a filler piece showing a strip-off web partly removed;

Fig. 6 is a view illustrating a sheet-like filler piece somewhat similar to that shown in Fig. 1, but with outer skins of heavy material;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of two sheets of the form shown in Fig. 4 placed face to face for the purpose of simultaneously cutting out two individual pieces, such as a right and a left;

Fig. 8 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in perspective, showing a filler piece generally similar to that of Fig. 5, but in which the skin or layer immediately beneath the strip-off web is provided with perforations to permit the binder material to exude and function as an adhesive;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of my filler sheet illustrating one mode of cutting such a sheet to provide individual filler leaves or pieces;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of one such leaf or piece cut from the sheet material, such leaf itself constituting an individual filler piece; a part of one skin being removed to expose the filler;

Figs. 11, 12, 12a and 13 are edge views illustrating various forms of my sheet-like filler piece;

Fig. 14 is a perspective, in vertical section, illustrating a form of filler leaf having one side corrugated;

Fig. 15 is a plan view ofa shank piece;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary vertical section substantially on the line 16-16 of Fig. 18 but to larger scale;

Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. 16, but showing the outer sole in place and the filler material spread by the levelling pressure so as to fill the entire shoe cavity;

Fig. 18 is a bottom plan view of a shoebottom ready to receive the outer sole and illustrating one mode of employing such filler leaves or ieces;

Fig. 19 is a bottom plan view of a McKay shoe forepart with the sole removed to show the cavity as filled by the use of one of the filler leaves or pieces herein described, and showing the spread out appearance and irregular shape of the spreadable portion or lamina of the filler piece after levelling pressure has been applied;

Fig. 20 is a plan view of two sheets laid pose of simultaneously cutting out a right a and a left filler leaf;

Fig. 21 is a plan view illustrating such right and left filler leaves as result from cutting as in Figs. 7 and 20;

Fig. 22 is a plan View illustrating a method of building up a plurality of the leaf-like filler leaves or pieces to provide an increased amount of filler material; and

Fig. 23 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating various shapes of my filler pieces.

Briefly my filler piece, in its usual or preferred embodiment, consists of a layer 15 of plastic filler material (preferably of the general kind disclosed in my filler patents previously noted) having upon its opposite sides cover layers, skins or integuments 14 and 11 which in this instance are illustrated as of paper or like material. When in this connection I speak of paper I wish it to be understood that I intend to include any paper-like substance (including pure cellulose, wood pulp or other substance which may or may not be capable of being dissolved away in water, either hot or cold, or by the action of chemicals not injurious to the enclosed filler body).

As already explained a wide variety of cover materials or protecting skins may be used, Figure 2 showing textile surfaces 11, 14, Figure 3 showing coverings in the form of crusts or skins 11a and 14a of powdered material pressed into the plastic layer and held therein by the binder of the filler compound. Such powdered material is chalk, talc, pulverized mica, soapstone, plaster of Paris, powdered shellac or any other suitable dulling material adapted to form with the binder a coating or crust to provide thereby a suitably non-adhesive dry surface for shipping and handling and yet such that it will not interfere with the ultimate purpose and function of the filler piece in the shoe. This skin may be provided by a colloidal solution such, for example, as a solution of glue, shellac. dextrine or celluloid, adapted upon evaporation of the solvent to leave a dry film or coating 11a. 14a. adherent to the piece as a dry externally non-adhesive cover film. Par-affine is mentioned in my copending ap plication Ser. No. 228.588 file-d October 25, 1927. The textile fabric 11, 14' may be close woven or open. light weight or heavy, thin or thick, depending upon the kind of intermediate layer 15 and whether it is desired that the latter should exude through it under pressure or not. A slippery coating of antisqueak material may be employed as shown at 147) Figure l consisting of mica, soapstone, chalk, or talc, the dusting of the filler layer thereby being first to dull the surface sufficiently to prevent it from sticking so readily to adjacent surfaces in packaging, shipping and handling, and being second to prevent the common squeaking of the McKay shoe by providing a more or less slippery surface to engage the inner surface of the outer sole, and third to make the sheet less expensive than with two paper or textile coverings. A still further modification is shown in Fig. 5 where a coat F of waxy, asphaltic or paintlike substance. or any other adhesive material such as any of the crust forming substances just mentioned is applied on the adjacent skin or web 1% protected by a stripoff coating or web l/V, so that in use the stripotf web can instantly be stripped off so as to expose a sticky surface to the adjacent sole or innersole, thus holding the tiller piece in proper position. If an adhesive of the character, for example, of dextrine or any of the readily soluble crust forming ingredients above and whether intermixed with any of the dusting substances, or lint, cork dust, wood pulp or other sheet-layer forming substance is used, which when dry becomes nonsticky, it is rendered active or sticky instantly when moistened, and if the web IV is readily absorbent or easily permeated the dry adhesive or other water subservient element is readily dissolved and the layer made sticky by dipping the whole piece in water, hot or cold. WVhen, later, the solvent has evaporated or disappeared the previous coating materials act as stitfeners for the laid fillers. The strip-off web IV when used covers and protects the sticky coating (active or latent) during shipment and storage and keeps such coating in proper condition until the moment of use. Another embodiment for accomplishing the same purpose is shown in Fig. 8 where a cover skin 53 of any of the kinds mentioned is shown having openings or perforations 14d through which the plastic filler layer 15 will protrude upon being compressed but is normally held in by any of the temporary enclosing but removable layers already described, herein represented for convenience graphically by a strip-off element 54. In Fig. 6 I illustrate other proportions of the laminated layers, this form of piece or sheet being stiffer by reason of having thicker and therefore more rigid outside layers 110, Mo. In other words I wish it understood that my invention broadly considered is capable of a wide range of embodiments to suit the differentrequirements, fancied or otherwise, of the various shoe manufacturers and the different kinds of shoes. A cheap McKay, for example, sells better with a stiff bottom because the class of customers purchasing such shoes have become accustomed to that kind of a bottom. Hence although one object of my invention is to make it possible for the h'IcKay shoe manufacturer to provide substantially the same flexible, comfortable shoe-bottom which has been heretofore considered essential in welt shoes, yet occasionally this advantage will not be desired by some McKay shoe manufacturers and in such cases I provide a stifi'er filler piece as shown in Fig. 6. Ordinarily as indicated in Fig. 11 the sheeted material is plane or flat with its upper and lower surfaces substantially level. Various other shapes may be employed as the corrugations 34 of Figs. 12, 12a or the piece may have thick outer portions 37, 38 and a thin central portion 39 as in Figure 13 or one side may be Hat and the other side provided with ribs 40, 41 as shown in Fig. 14. In the latter case these ribs store an excess of filler material which under the levelling pressure exudes specially and aids the top corrugated covering piece to extend readily without tearing or breaking. In the forms shown in Figs. 12. 1% under the levelling pressure, the top and bottom layers expand without spreading, as they become more extended simply by being pressed down from a corrugated shape to a flattened shape, whereas the intermediate layer expands in both ways, by spreading or being squeezed out beyond the enclosing layers and also by being brought down from the corrugated form to the flattened form. In other words, the top and bottom layers have a capacity of predetermined expansion in area under pressure and the intermediate plastic portion has a capacity of expansion in area or limited shifting in area, contour and thickness so as to conform to irregularities ofthe cavity whatever said irregularities may prove to be. Also when such a leaf-like piece is deposited in the shoe cavity and subjected to pressure it tends to spread laterally with greater ease than does the flat piece of Fig. 11. The shape shown in Fig. 13 is especially applicable to McKay shoes in which the cavity is not as deep at its central part as it is at the sides. The central portions may be of substantally zero depth in case the last bottom is arched much so as to bring the innersole and the outer sole into direct contact along the middle. and thus this form of filler piece is well suited to fit such a McKay cavity since it provides the larger body of plastic filler material at those portions of the cavity which are deepest. This feature of my invention is further elaborated in my applicati m Ser. No. 212,018.

One main object of my invention is to provide a filler which does not require melting or require a machine at the shoe factory for its application, another object is to provide a filler in such shape and condition that it expedites the shipping. handling. storing and applying and eliminates waste. And a third chief object is to provide a tiller which is spread or brought to final cavity filling position after the sole is laid. As one result of the last feature, it follows that the filler pieces do not have to conform to the cavity but can be of almost any arbitrary shape. Thus in Figs. 9, l0, 14, 18, 2022 oval shapes 2%, 30, 31, 31a, 32 are shown which however I are less in siZe and area than the extent of cavity to be filled thereby, and in Figs. 19 and 23 polygonal shaped pieces 61, 62, 63, 64: are shown, which may be used advantageously and with less waste than when the leaves are cut with curved contours. In other words my invention results in producing, in a clean, easy, inexpensive and simple manner, the desired shape and evenness of shoe-bottom, and equally applicable to a McKay shoe and to a welt shoe, because the pad-like piece may be molded or squeezed out. up, down, or in, as

required for alignment and fitting to its surroundings without any particular skill or attention from the operator since this is accomplished preferably by the regular levelling step in the shoe manufacture which is always required for molding the sole and bottom. The laminated layer or piece can be handled, packaged, shipped, etc. with impunty because of the outside protective surfaces, but has within it distensible, spreadable and conformable characteristics as well as the desired adhesive characteristics capable of becoming operative and the latter elfectively sticky with relation to adjacent shoe cavity surfaces by pressure as distinguished from heat. By this, I do not mean to exclude heat.

i The filler pieces may be heat treated and may be used in'connection with any heat process, but, as pieces, they may be used by a pressure process without heat, and this is one of the important and novel advantages.

In cutting up the sheet material to form the individual leaves or pieces the pieces may be cut as shown in Fig. 9 with slight waste and rights and lefts may be simultaneously cut by placing two sheets on each other as shown in Figs. 7 and 20 whereupon a single cut of a die forms the desired two pieces as shown in Fig. 21.

The supporting layer or layers of paper or like material is important or valuable in many respects. I have already mentioned their supporting function in making the individual piece practicable as a self-contained, self-sustained, handleable unit. They also facilitate the sheeting, cutting or molding, packaging and transportation. All this is equally true of a piece or sheet having only a bottom layer of this kind. In this case, said supporting and shape preserving layer facilitates the resurfacing, previously mentioned, by holding the hot and still soft, plastic layer in undisturbed sheet position while its exposed upper, sticky filler face is supplied with a relatively thick but unstable layer of dulling, dry, non-sticky materials which is rendered stable and made into a fixed durable surface by pressure. Preferably this pressure is a rolling pressure, which,

but for the bottom supporting layer would tend to deform the sheet or piece, especially when, as preferred, there is pressed into the plastic layer, along with the other dulling surfacing powder, a proportion of latent adhesive and inert, binder absorbing ingredients to become later active in stiffening and tempering the filler and in rendering the laid filler piece permanently firm as a result of the spreading operation and of the resultant final commingling and uniting of said absorbents with the binder in the shoebottom cavity. In other words the piece thus coated produces a resurfaced article which, thereby, under the pressure of the shoe filling operation becomes harder, stiffer or nonshiftable, under the various treatments mentioned and becomes temporarily sticky or more sticky, which automatically takes up binder or overcomes a surplus of binder in the filler-mass, is ultimately less responsive to heat in the wear of the shoe, results in a better blended filler mixture (although permitting the presence of excess binder at the moment desirable for rendering the spreading easier), and becomes by the preliminary quickening treatment excessively adhesive throughout the confines of the bottom cavity. Also the same resurfacing produces a filler piece, in connection with the colloidal and other chemical relations therefor as already mentioned, which, in the process of laying, chemically influences the binding agents, and various ingredients, of the mass by refreshing or quickening the binder, etc., temporarily or permanently, as the case may be, chemically reacts by moisture influence, and is capable of responding to the influence of heat (for instance in case a hot roll is used as the pressure and spreading tool.) For a welt where more filler material is required than in a McKay more than one leaf or piece may be used as shown in Fig. 22. One means of holding the pieces in place is shown in Fig. 18 where a usual shank spring 33 is laid on the adjacent ends of the two filler pieces 24, 32, which under the pressure of the sole holds the said pieces firm. Or prior to placing the filler piece in position I may apply adhesive to the surface of the innersole or to one or both sides of the filler piece, or both, or remove a small section of the outer skin or integument as shown in Fig. 10 to expose the sticky inner layer so that when the filler piece is placed in position it will stick to the adjacent leather and retain the piece temporarily until the final spreading by the vertical pressure of the bottom levelling operation. Or one side of the filler piece may be brought momentarily into contact with a hot surface or iron just as it is about to be laid in the shoe-bottom, said touching thereof to the hot iron softening the binder so as to permit the entire skin or outer covering 11 or 14 to be pulled off as a strip-off layer thereby exposing the whole intermediate surface of sticky filler material, which latter moreover is rendered temporarily extra sticky by the heat application. Or the perforated cover form shown in Fig. 8 may be employed (uncovered by pulling off the strip-off layer 54) The thin crust or fragile coatings as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 also accomplish the same result by being broken either by being bent or pushed hard when laid, thereby permitting the sticky interior to exude. Also when this crust-like layer is protected by a strip-0d web, the stripping off of the latter usually pulls off with it fragments of the fragile powder coating or crust thereby exposing the sticky layer more or less. It is unnecessary for the worker to employ any particular care in placing it in position except to move it to a generally central position. In Fig. 16 the filler piece is shown, somewhat exaggerated, laid in the cavity 27 on the inturned edges 26 of the upper, or the filler piece may be laid as shown in Figs. 18 and 19, the difference being that the operator selects that size and thickness of leaf which is adapted to fill properly the cavity when the pressure is applied. If it is a very shallow cavity either a thinner piece or a smaller piece is used than where the cavity is deep. If the filler piece happens to be laid so as to overlap slightly the edge of the upper as shown in Figs. 16 and 18 it does no harm because of the compressible or spreadable character of the filler piece. If this filler leaf were of non-shiftable character this overlapping would cause a ridge and ruin the shoe-bottom but because of the peculiar characteristics of my filler piece and particularly its plasticity and spreadability it is possible to make with it a perfect shoe-bottom even when laid as shown, without causing distortion of the outer sole when levelled.

After the filler piece 24 has been placed in position the outer sole 29 is applied as shown in Fig. 17 and secured by any usual means as by stitches 30 and then the bottom is subjected to the well known customary levelling action whereby the sole and entire bottom are molded to their ultimate shape and simultaneously or automatically the included or contained filler leaf or piece is expanded or spread laterally in whatever direction and to whatever extent the shoe cavity and adjacent crevices or openings require for perfect filling, the plastic layer of the laminated piece spreading into all the recesses and corners of the cavity and over the projections of the upper edge and through the furrows or pleats between the folds of the inturned edge of the upper,thus furnishing a smooth and even surface in supporting relation to the sole at all points. plished in connection with the sole, and largely by the sole, the result is an automatic and perfect conformity to the sole level or shape and surface. And as the spread out intermediate layer is of a sticky nature the result is that it sticks to the outer sole, inner- As this is accom-' GGdFCil W sole and adjacent edges, uniting them all in one whole and likewise permanently waterproofing and sealing the bottom, but without injuring the flexibility or other desired characteristics of the perfect shoe. In fact the preferred form of filler piece promotes the flexible, durable and other desired qualities of the shoe-bottom. It is a common practice in making McKay shoes to employ innersoles which are very thin, and the reinforcement afforded as just explained by the adhering filler piece gives a plumping effect and advantage to both the outer sole and the innersole without actual plumping, so that a resultant stability of bottom structure is secured which has not heretofore been attainable. During the spreading action the enclosing webs, particularly if made of thin paper or any of the crust-like skins mentioned, may possibly spread or break up and in some instances substantially disappear, the remnants of such skins or covering materials tending to harden or stiffen the plastic layer and prevent its subsequent shifting. If the skin or integument ll, 11 remain intact, which is my preferred embodiment, the near approach of the upper and lower skins or protectors effectively prevents subsequent shifting of the filler. In case these layers are relatively thick and heavy as shown at lle, 14:6 the intervening layer will be entirely squeezed out from the middle as shown in Figure 17 thereby rendering any shifting wholly impossible. Not only may the filler piece be varied as to its laminae but it may be the vehicle for other portions of the shoebottom as for instance in Figure 15 a shank filler piece 33a is shown cut from the sheeted material and containing within it a usual shank stiffener or steel 33; alternatively the shank stiffener instead of being imbedded in the filler material when the filler sheet is made may simply be fastened to the outside of the filler piece, becoming imbedded in the surface of the latter when the levelling pressure is applied, thus holding it firmly and accurately in place.

A recommended and preferred form of the invention herein claimed may be made of a layer of plastic, spreadable shoe filler material of the kind described, preferably made of ground cork and wax tailings, and a pro tcctive coating layer or crust of ground cork, pulverized dextrine or pulverized glue applied to one side at least of the layer of plastic shoe filler material and firmly pressed into the surface thereof. The other side may be provided with a similar crust or with a layer of paper or other form of integument as hereinbefore described. \Vhile the claims of the present patent are all applicable to a filler piece of the species just defined, it will be understood that they are not intended to be limited to the specific combination of ingredients and structure just defined excepting as required by their express terms but are intended to include filler pieces containing equivalents for the recommended elements and sub-combinations thereof, Whether used with or Without additional features.

Generic claims for my filler piece and claims for certain species have been made in my application Serial No. 297.030 tiled Auust 6, 1928. now Patent No. 1,793,310, dated February 17, 1931. Other species have been claimed in my application Serial No. 133.506 filed September 3, 1926, now Patent No. 1,801,163, dated April 21, 1931, and in my application Serial No. 192,076 liled May 17, 1927, now Patent No. 1,790.670, dated March 17, 1931. The process of filling shoes as partly described herein is covered by my applications Serial No. 210,558 filed August 1, 1927, and Serial No. 212,085 filed December 23, 192 now Patent No. 1,790,671, dated March 17, 1931; and the filled shoe is covered by my application Serial No. 212,017 filed August 10, 1927, all of which separate applications have been divided out of or derived in whole or in part from the present application and said application Serial No. 133,506.

that I claim herein is as follows:

1. A self-sustaining, shape-maintaining shoe-bottom filler piece comprising a layer of plastic, spreadable, filler material, and a surface layer of normally non-sticky crust forming materials containing a latent stilfen ing ingredient capable of being rendered active at the time of the laying and spreading of the piece in a shoe-bottom cavity.

2. A self-sustaining, shape-maintaining shoe-bottom filler piece comprising a layer of plastic, spreadable, filler material, and a surface layer of normally non-sticky crust forming materials containing a latent adhesive capable of being rendered active at the time of the laying and spreading of the piece in a shoe-bottom cavity.

3. A self-sustaining, shape-maintaining shoe-bottom filler piece comprising a layer of plastic, spreadable, filler material, and a surface layer of normally non-sticky crust forming materials containing a latent adhesive capable of being rendered active by moisture.

4. A self-sustaining, shape-maintaining shoe-bottom filler piece comprising alayer of plastic, spreadable, filler material, and a surface layer of normally non-sticky crust forming materials containing a latent adhesive capable of being rendered active by heat.

5. A self-sustaining, shape-maintaining shoe-bottom filler piece comprising a layer of plastic, spreadable, filler material, and a surface layer of normally non-sticky crust forming materials containing a latent adhesive capable of being rendered active by 7 heat and moisture.

6. A self-sustaining, shape-maintaining shoe-bottom filler piece comprising a layer of plastic, spreadable, filler material, and a surface layer of normally non-sticky crust forming materials, the latter layer being soluble at least in part.

7. A self-sustaining, shape-maintaining shoebottom tiller piece comprising a layer of plastic, spread-able, filler material, and a surface layer of normally non-sticky crust forming materials containing eomminuted inert material and a pulverulent stiffener.

S. A self-sustaining, shape-maintaining shoe-bottom filler piece comprising a layer of plastic, spreadable, filler material, and a surface layer of granular, powdery, normally non-sticky materials partially embedded in the surface of the plastic layer, said surface layer containing a latent adhesive capable of being rendered active as a surface adhesive in the process of filler laying and as a stili'ening agent in the laid filler.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts. this 12th day of April, 1927. 1

ANDREW THOMA. 

